


it's our destiny (you will see)

by rocketshiptospace



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 10:43:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2425823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocketshiptospace/pseuds/rocketshiptospace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Ashton thinks this might be karma for drawing fake soulmate tattoo's on his arm when he was younger. It's like 'Oh, you really like the idea of soulmates, don't you? Here, have three!'.</i>
</p>
<p>or, ashton has three soulmates and not all of them have really come to terms with it</p>
            </blockquote>





	it's our destiny (you will see)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [livefastdiehung](https://archiveofourown.org/users/livefastdiehung/gifts).



> THIS TOOK TEN YEARS BUT I DID IT HELL YEAH 
> 
> ive been wanting to write ot4 for like forever and you guys now how i feel about soulmate fics so i was like YES PERFECT

The concept is simple; on your eighteenth birthday a tattoo will appear somewhere on your body and this tattoo will eventually lead to you meeting your soulmate. You and your soulmate's tattoo don't match, though. Most of the time the tattoo either has something to do with your meeting, or with the personality of your soulmate. A lot of people haven't even met their soulmate with the help of the tattoo, because when you meet your soulmate, you'll just _know._ The tattoo is more a prove that this person is _indeed_ your soulmate. It's also a nice reminder that someone, somewhere, is meant for you. Someone out there is going to love you unconditionally, no matter what. 

Ashton  _loves_ the soulmate tattoos. He loves the idea of them, loves the deeper meaning some of them carry. Basically, he can't  _wait_ to get his own. He remembers when he was little, he would often take a sharpie and draw colorful, meaningless patterns on his arm, pretending it was his soulmate tattoo. His mother would scold him for it, tell him he's not supposed to do that, the tattoo will come when it's time, but Ashton knows she smiled fondly at him when she thought he wasn't looking. 

It's just, his entire life Ashton has had this strange feeling of not really _belonging._ He has friends, a loving family, everything, but he never really truly feels at home. Something's missing, he just has no idea _what_.

And then he turns eighteen.

The morning of his eighteenth birthday he wakes up with nervous butterflies in his stomach, but a smile on his face. He keeps his eyes closed for awhile, just lying there snuggled under the blankets, thinking about what his soulmate tattoo could possibly be. He hopes it's something cool and not sappy like the little red heart his aunt has on her wrist. He doesn't want anything over the top and extraordinary but he'd like it to be a bit more special than just a heart.

Eventually he takes a deep breath and opens his eyes.

It's on his wrist. It's a tiny slice of pizza placed on his right wrist and he can't help but run his fingers over it in awe. It's an unusual kind of soulmate tattoo, but it's quirky and it's cute and Ashton loves it. Plus, he likes pizza, and apparently so does his soulmate. Or maybe they'll meet in a pizza place. Ashton knows a good one just a few blocks away from his house and he vows to go there more often from now on, just in case.

He gets out of bed eventually, after just staring at his tattoo for awhile. He's excited to show his mother and siblings. He can almost envision his mother reaction, a proud beaming smile that her son got his tattoo, but a roll of the eyes when she sees it's a slice of pizza. On his way out of the room he picks up a shirt and goes to put it on. He freezes, however, arms up in the air and hands sticking half out of the sleeves, when he spots a tiny black spot on his back in the mirror.

No.

No, this can't be.

This is impossible.

Ashton carefully puts down the shirt and scoots closer to the mirror, angling it so he can get a better look at his shoulder.

And yes, there it is, on his right shoulder, a tiny pitch black paw print.

Another soulmate tattoo.

Ashton stands there for awhile, staring at his shoulder in pure and utter confusion. He's never heard of anyone having more than one tattoo and he has no idea what it means. It scares him and he has to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

He's been obsessed with the soulmate tattoos for years, read every book about them, read every article on the internet. He literally knows _everything_ about the soulmate tattoos, so he actually does know what it means. He just doesn't want to admit it to himself.

Multiple soulmate tattoos means multiple soulmates.

Ashton doesn't have one, but two people walking around on this planet that are the one he's meant to be with forever. It's very _very_ uncommon, but it happens. And it's scaring him. Because like, what if his soulmates don't have each others soulmate tattoo's? What if he's supposes to love all those people and they aren't meant to love each other? That's going to be a fucking mess. He doesn't want mess. He just wants to meet the person he's supposed to spend the rest of his life with and that'd be it. No multiple soulmates, no multiple tattoos, just two people falling in love.

_He doesn't want this,_ he thinks, staring at the paw print in the hope it'll disappear if he stares long enough at it. Despite the fact that it's unnatural and uncommon and  _weird_ , the paw print is kind of really cute. It looks like it's from a dog, and it might be a bit childish, but it's cute nonetheless. While looking at it in the mirror he finally manages to calm himself down enough to proceed with what he was doing before. 

But when he turns to face the mirror, his breath catches in his throat once again.

This has to be a joke. This is just one big motherfucking joke.

Because right there, right on his chest, is a tiny little music note.

It's the smallest tattoo out of the three, barely a splash of black on the right side of his chest, precisely where his heart's supposed to be. Once again, it's kind of cute, if it hadn't been the  _third_ tattoo he discovered that morning.

He doesn't even know how to react anymore, just stares at the tattoo with an empty look in his eyes.

Ashton thinks this might be karma for drawing fake soulmate tattoo's on his arm when he was younger. It's like 'Oh, you really like the idea of soulmates, don't you? Here, have three!'.

He's standing there, mind drawing an absolute  _blank_ , until he hears his mom yelling from downstairs that he has to get out of bed because he has school soon and they still want to wish him a happy birthday.

He finally,  _finally_ puts on the shirt and heads downstairs, heavy feeling in his bones.

He only shows his mother the tiny slice of pizza. She reacts exactly as he predicted.

–

He keeps them hidden, the paw print and the music note. He's not really sure if it's because this way he can pretend he only has one soulmate, or maybe because he doesn't want other to judge. No matter what, he barely ever takes off his shirt and whenever people ask him about his soulmate he shows them the pizza tattoo with a heavy feeling in his heart.

It feels like he's betraying his other two soulmates by hiding the tattoo's, like he's ashamed of them. It's not, he's not, it's just. It's easier to pretend he's normal rather than take the risk of standing out. He's scared of what other people will say, when they see the tattoo's.

So he keeps them hidden, declines invitations to go swimming, avoids gym class and wears mostly t-shirts.

The slice of pizza is still in plain sight though, right on his wrist, for the whole world to see.

And that's how he meets Michael.

–

It's been a long day and Ashton's so,  _so_ fed up with like, everything. His morning was already bad enough because he was late and he had to rush to get to college in time, only to find out his lecture for the day was canceled. On his way back home some first year bumped into him and spilled his coffee all over him which left him with a gigantic coffee stain on his favorite shirt. On top of all that he broke his drumsticks during an impromptu drumming session and now he needs to get new ones.

Which is why he's currently standing in the local music store, looking at the drumstick display. Of course, because this day is  _really_ working in his favor, the ones he usually gets are sold out and since he really can't go a day without drumsticks, he needs to find a substitute pair. Which is a lot harder than it looks because every single one of them just feels  _weird_ when he holds them.

Eventually he finds a decent pair, in his price range that sort of feel nice and he's just testing them out when someone beside him says “Oh, pizza! I love pizza.”

Ashton frowns. “What?”

“Your tattoo! It's like, really cute.” The guy says as he grabs Ashton's wrist, probably to study the tattoo closer.

Ashton instinctively goes to pull his arm back because, what the fuck why is this stranger touching him, but then he looks up and meets the stranger's eyes and wow.  _Wow._

There's a warm feeling spreading in Ashton's chest as he looks in the guy's sparkling green eyes. The guy is looking at him, slightly open mouthed and then his eyes drift towards the drumsticks in Ashton's hand and he lets out a loud squeak.

Ashton wants to ask what's wrong but suddenly the stranger lets go of his wrist and he's leaning down to untie his left combat boot. Ashton's staring at him, slightly confused and a tiny bit worried for the guys sanity when he pulls of his shoe and stands back up again. He practically shoves his foot in Ashton's face, which involves an incredibly flexible pose that Ashton's slightly impressed by.

“Look!” The guys says as he continues to shove his foot in Ashton's face.

“Uh,” Ashton looks at the guys foot, “What am I supposed to see?”

The guy huffs. “The tattoo, you idiot!”

Ashton takes a closer look at the guy's foot and that's when he notices. There, right on the slope of Michael's foot, are two thin black lines. Upon closer investigation Ashton realizes they're drumsticks. Drumsticks identical to the ones he's currently holding.

The guy lowers his foot when he sees the realization on Ashton's face. “Michael, nice to meet you.”

Ashton takes the hand the guy has extended and shakes it. “Ashton, nice to meet you too.”

They stand there for awhile, staring at each other, just taking in each other presence and appearance. Looking at him better Ashton can see Michael's pretty attractive, with long legs clad in black skinny jeans and muscular arms sticking out of his black tank top. He has a piercing in his eyebrow and bright red hair. It actually looks really good on him.

“So, uh, I don't know how this normally goes, but are you free? Because I'd really like to take you on a date. Like, right now.” Michael eventually says and Ashton beams.

“Yeah, yes, I, uh, yes, I'd like that.”

Michael grins. “Great, wonderful, awesome, let's go.” Michael grabs Ashton's hand, ready to drag him towards the door when Ashton clears his throat and stops him.

“Uh, Michael?”

“Yeah?”

“You might want to put your shoe back on first.”

–

Michael is nice. He laughs loudly whenever Ashton makes a stupid joke and he likes the same music as him and his eyes sparkle when he tells Ashton about the things he loves.

They're taking it slow, because neither of them are comfortable with diving straight in like a lot of people are when they first meet their soulmate. Instead, they're taking their sweet time, going on dates and getting to know each other a bit better.

Ashton loves Michael because Michael is the kind of person that prefers staying in and play video games and watch a movie and order Chinese. Ashton can use someone like that in his life, someone who's chill and relaxed and helps him to stop being all over the place all the time. But sometimes, often late at night when they're asleep and Michael has just hogged all the blankets, Ashton feels like something's off, like something's missing. Because even though Ashton loves Michael's calm and relaxed personality, he feels like he could also really use someone who will go on adventures with him, someone who wakes him up in the middle of the night and goes 'I can't sleep, let's go for a walk'. Someone who will go to the gym with him and not complain about exercise all the time they're there.

Nights like those his hands will find the black splotches of ink on his back and chest, hidden away under the t-shirt he still never takes off and wonders what would happen if he told Michael about them.

That's the thing, though. Michael's never brought up having more than one soulmate tattoo and neither has Ashton's pretty sure Michael doesn't have the paw print and the music note, though. He can't tell for sure, because he's never really seen Michael without a shirt, but he knows Michael. Michael's the kind of person that can keep a secret for a grand total of 0.2 seconds before spilling it. If Michael had more tattoo's, he would've told Ashton.

Which leaves Ashton with the question he really, really doesn't want to think of: what will he do when he meets one of his other soulmate's? How the fuck is he going to tell Michael? 'Oh hi Michael, haven't seen you in awhile, funny story, I bumped into my other soulmate. Haha, yeah I have more than one, surprise!' For some reason Ashton doesn't think that conversation would go down too smoothly.

–

It's lazy Thursday night, Michael and Ashton just watching movies on the couch and eating pizza, when it happens.

Ashton's leaning back against the armrest of the couch, Michael leaning against his chest. Ashton yawns and tightens his arms around Michael's waist, burying his face in the boy's (vibrant green) hair. Michael makes a humming noise and shuffles back a bit, his loose black tank top shifting in the process.

Ashton gasps when the movement causes the tank top to shift so far that it reveals Michael's shoulder, or more precisely, _the tiny black paw print tattoo on Michael's shoulder._ Ashton stares at it, not sure what to say or do because _oh my god_. He's fascinated by it, had never really had the opportunity to look at it from up close and he tentatively reaches out his hand to touch it.

The minute Ashton's finger comes in contact with Michael's skin, Michael freezes. “I'm sorry,” Ashton mumbles, “It's just... Your tattoo.”

Michael seems to shake from his frozen state at those words and practically lunges of the couch, turning to Ashton with a panicked look on his face.

“I'm so sorry, Ash, I was going to tell you but I could just never find the right time and I know you're probably mad right now but please just let me explain okay? Please just let me explain.”

Ashton wants to opens his mouth to reassure Michael, to tell him he has the same tattoo, to tell him they can work this out, together, but Michael holds up his hands to silence him. “No, no, please don't say anything, please just let me finish first, okay? Like, okay, so, on my eighteenth birthday I woke up and went looking for my soulmate tattoo's and then there was more than one, so like, I think I have more than one soulmate? And I always thought it might've been some polygamy thing you know? But then I met you and you never brought up any other tattoo's? So I was like, this is probably some fucked up thing where I love a lot of people but then don't love each other and well that's going to be messy as fuck. So I was like, reluctant to tell you? I didn't... I didn't want to scare you off.” The last sentence comes out in a soft whisper and Michael diverts his eyes to the floor, balling his hands in the sleeves of his sweater.

“Michael...” Ashton starts, but Michael cuts him off once again.

“No! No, please don't, please don't say anything. I don't want to hear you reject me, I get it, I'll just leave, like, right now and you won't have to see me again, it's okay. I understand. It's probably really shitty to find out your soulmate is destined to love other people beside you and you probably don't want me anymore, so I'll just. I'll just leave.” Michael turns around, walking in the direction of their bedroom, presumably to grab his stuff and get out of there, but Ashton stops him with a hand on his arm.

“Michael, wait, please look at me.” Michael stops dead in his tracks and slowly turns around, facing Ashton with a scared look on his face.

“It seems we've both kind of been idiots.” Ashton continues, reaching for the hem of his t-shirt and pulling it over his head.

Michael frowns in confusion. “Ashton? What are you doing?”

“Showing you something I should've shown you a long time ago,” he says as he struggles to get his t-shirt off. When he finally succeeds, he just stands there, facing Michael, waiting for him to catch on.

“The music note...” Michael eventually breathes out, tentatively taking a step forward, his hand outstretched. He looks at Ashton and Ashton gives him a small nod. Michael immediately steps closer and traces his fingers over the tiny little music note that's placed right over Ashton's heart.

“It's weird, seeing it like this.”Michael mutters and Ashton hums, tugging at the bottom of Michael's tank top. Michael immediately gets the hint and takes it off. Ashton's breath catches in his throat when he sees the music note. Michael was right, it's different seeing it like this. He reaches out too, carefully, his fingers barely grazing the skin of Michael's chest. Michael shivers and Ashton retracts his hand.

“No, don't, it's just, your hand was like, cold,” Michael mumbles and Ashton nods, reaching out again and tracing the music note with his fingers.

“This is probably a really weird time to mention this, but you look really _really_ good without a shirt. Like, your body is all toned and stuff.”

Ashton laughs and the weird sort of trance they had found themselves in gets broken. “Thanks, you're not too bad yourself either.”

“Hmm, really?” Michael hums, stepping closer to Ashton so they're touching chest to chest now. The touch is foreign but surprisingly good and Ashton smiles.

“Yes, really,” Ashton mumbles, before slightly reaching up and pressing his lips to Michael's. Michael's arms immediately find their way to Ashton's waist and he pulls Ashton even closer, their bodies fully pressed together now. Ashton circles his arms around Michael's neck and his hands find their way to the short strands of hair there. He softly tugs it and Michael moans against his mouth.

“Bed?” Ashton whispers, pulling away slightly, their noses touching.

“Bed.” Michael agrees, immediately turning around and dragging Ashton in the direction of the bedroom

Ashton follows him willingly, eyes trained on the paw print tattoo on Michael's shoulder. They should probably talk about that, about their other soulmate's. But like, that can totally wait till another time. He has more important stuff to do right now.

–

They talk, the next morning, over coffee and pancakes and happy smiles. Eventually they reach some sort of mutual agreement that they apparently have more than one soulmate and that they're just going to have to wait and see. Maybe they'll never meet the other two, maybe they will. No matter what happens, it's nice to finally have someone to talk about this with. For all those years Ashton kept it all bottled up, but now he can tell Michael everything he's been feeling for the past few years and it's nice. Michael opens up to him to and it seems to form this strange bond between them (last night really helped with that too, though).

Like sure, they were soulmates before, but this is the first time Ashton really _feels_ that Michael is his soulmate. For the first time Ashton really feels like him and Michael are meant to be together, meant to grow old together. Maybe it's just going to be the two of them, and maybe more people will join them. Ashton doesn't really care, he's happy no matter what.

–

Except okay, maybe there's still this empty feeling gnawing at his heart like he's _missing_ something. He almost feels greedy, feeling like this, feeling like he needs _more._

Michael is feeling it too, though, Ashton just knows. He's permanently moved in at this point (like he wasn't already practically living at Ashton's place) and there's something in the way they move around each other, in the way they act around each other, that Ashton can tell they're just not _complete._

And just when Ashton thinks they're about to break, when he thinks Michael and him can't go on any longer like this, with just the two of them, they meet Calum.

It happens on a Friday afternoon, when Michael and Ashton are shopping for new clothes. They've been wandering around town for awhile now, occasionally hopping in shops and trying things on and they're actually having a lot of fun. Eventually they get tired of it though, so they decide to head back home. On their way home, however, they pass a pet shop and Michael stops dead in his tracks, causing Ashton to bump into him.

Ashton rubs his shoulder, annoyed. “Why.”

“Nothing in particular, just, cute kittens.” Michael points to a basket that's placed right in front of the shop's window, that contains a bunch of softly mewing kittens.

Ashton scrunches up his nose. “I'm allergic to cats.”

“I did not know that.” Michael says, raising an eyebrow.

Ashton shrugs. “It's not really bad, just like, if I get too close.”

Michael is about to open his mouth to say something when a guy suddenly zooms passed them and comes to a halt right in front of the shop window, pressing his nose against the glass and cooing in the puppies that are placed in a basket right next to the kittens.

“What a weirdo,” Michael says. It's probably supposed to come out as a whisper, only meant for Ashton to hear, but Michael's never been one for subtlety and quietness and the guy obviously hears, if the frown on his face is anything to go by when he swivels around to face the two boys.

“What did you just call me?”

Michael, never one to back down from a challenge, takes a menacing step forwards. “A weirdo.”

“Oh, you motherfucker,” the other guy says, “Fucking fight me.”

Ashton hate this planet. He hates his boyfriend and the fact he seems to be unable to keep his mouth shut and he hates the other guy for getting so worked up over the word 'weirdo', like for gods sake, _it's not that bad._

Both the guy and Michael take another step closer to each other until they're practically face to face and Ashton is about to reach for Michael's arm to pull him away when both the guy and Michael just seem to _freeze_.

“You,” they breath out at the exact same time. They stare at each other for awhile and then suddenly the guy starts pulling at the bracelets tied around his wrist, slowly revealing the last thing Ashton had expected.

Because there, right on the guys right wrist, is a tiny pizza tattoo, identical to the one on Ashton's wrist.

“Oh my god,” Ashton says and suddenly the guys attention focuses on Ashton.

“Oh my god,” the guy says, when they lock eyes. There's the same warm feeling spreading through his chest as there had when he met Michael and the paw print tattoo on his back starts tingling and he immediately knows.

This is him. This is their other soulmate.

“Drumsticks?” The other guys whispers and Ashton has to suppress a giggle.

“Yeah, but please call me Ashton,” He says, extending his hand.

The guys shakes it, bright smile on his face. “Calum.”

Michael clears his throat, still standing behind Calum. “Michael.”

Calum shakes his hand too and seems to be unable to wipe the bright smile of his face. “I cannot believe I found you guys! It's been like, forever! And the music note tattoo? Where are they? They with you? Or waiting at home? Because like, I'd really like to meet them. Not that it's not nice to meet your, it sure is, it's just like, I'd be nice if the gang was complete, you know?” When Calum sees the frowns on the other boys faces he slightly pales. “Oh my god, you don't have the music note tattoo, do you? Oh god I'm so sorry, I just assumed, since you two..”

Ashton quickly cuts him off. “No, no, we have the music note, just, uh, haven't met them yet.”

Calum sighs in relief. “Thank god, hey, you guys busy right now? I thought maybe we could go for some coffee? Just like, get to know each other.”

Michael and Ashton look at each other for a second before nodding. “Yeah, sure, let's get some coffee.”

–

Calum fits perfectly. He's energetic, but can also be calm and cuddly and he seems to create the perfect balance between Ashton and Michael. He seems pretty okay with the whole multiple soulmate thing too, never really went through the confusing struggle both Michael and Ashton went through. He just woke up with three tattoo's on his eighteenth birthday, shrugged, and went on with his day.

Ashton likes that about Calum, the fact that he doesn't really worry about things. He just sort of goes with the flow and sees what happens. He moves in with them fairly quickly, faster than Michael had moved in with Ashton. It just seemed logical, because they both loved having Calum around and Calum seemed to love being around.

So now Ashton has someone to go sporting with, someone who will wake up with him early in the morning to go for a run. And at the same time, Michael has someone who will snuggle up to him when he's playing video games. Calum's basically the perfect addition.

It still feels like something's missing, though. There's still times at night that Ashton lies awake, snuggled between Michael and Calum, unable to shake the feeling of loneliness, of emptiness, that gnaws at his heart. It's weird, because he has the two cutest boys in existence snuggled up to him, but he still doesn't feel _whole_.

He knows the other boys feel it too, sees it in the way Michael will subconsciously reach for his heart, where the music note tattoo is, whenever he's really tired or sad, sees it in the way Calum can sometimes just stare at the wall for hours, seemingly deep in thought.

They need _something, someone_ to make them complete and Ashton hopes they'll meet them soon.

–

They meet him. Or more specifically, Calum meets him.

Except it doesn't really go as they expected.

It happens on a Saturday. Michael and Ashton are making lunch (well, Ashton's making lunch and Michael's sitting at the kitchen table commenting on how _great_ Ashton's ass looks while he's chopping onions) while Calum's out for a run.

Ashton immediately knows something's wrong though, when Calum comes home half an hour earlier than expected, calling out a weak sounding “Guys?”

Both Michael and Ashton immediately rush to the front door, only to find Calum standing there, looking surprisingly small compared to his normal happy self.

“Cal? Cal, baby, what's wrong?” Michael asks, tentatively reaching his hands out in Calum's direction. Calum stands there, looking on the verge of tears, staring at Michael and Ashton with wide eyes.

“I met him.”

Ashton frowns. “Who, Calum, who did you meet?”

“Luke,” Calum breaths out, and then he falls forward, right into Michael's outstretched hands, burying his face in the boy's shoulder.

Ashton immediately moves closer and places a reassuring hand on Calum's back. “Ssh, baby, don't worry, it's going to be fine.”

Calum looks up, with tears streaked cheeks and red puffy eyes. “No it won't. He doesn't want us.”

Ashton's slightly confused and Michael's sending him questioning looks over Calum's head. “Cal, let's move to the living room, okay? Let's go sit down on the couch so we can talk about what happened, yeah?”

Calum nods and buries his head in Michael's shoulder again, letting himself be shuffled to the couch. They fall down on the old, but comfortable piece of furniture and immediately seem to curl around each other, Calum in the middle.

“Take a deep breath and tell us what happened, okay?” Ashton murmurs as he soothingly rubs Calum's back.

Calum eventually calms down enough to be able to speak, sobs subdued to a soft sniffling. “So I was running, like, my normal route? And then, then there was this puppy and he was like, really cute? And he was just waggling around without an owner so I was like 'well, might as well pet him!' but when I tried to walk over he started running away so I, uh, ran after him?”

Ashton has to suppress a fond smile as he cards his fingers through Calum's hair. Of course Calum would go and run after a puppy. Calum leans into the touch a bit, sighing softly, before he continues.

“And then I bumped into this guy. Tall, blond, playing guitar. Really pretty.”

Ashton freezes. Ashton freezes because suddenly he understands where this story is going, why Calum's so upset and he hopes to god it isn't what he thinks it is. Over Calum's head he can see Michael wearing a shocked expression identical to the one Ashton's probably wearing.

“He had the tattoo's. Or at least the pizza one. I could see it poking from under his wristbands. Could feel it to. Looking into his eyes felt like...” Calum's eyes start watering again. “Home.” The word comes out mangled and choked and doesn't sound at all like the way 'home' is supposed to sound like.

“Oh, Cal,” Michael mutters, pulling the boy into his embrace.

“He was so happy, Michael, so happy to have found me. But then I, I told them about you guys, of course. I was like 'Michael and Ashton would love to meet you!' And he looked so confused and then I was like 'Your other soulmate's!' And I explained to him the pizza slice wasn't actually my tattoo, that mine was the paw print on his shoulder and he just. He just _stood_ there. Like, mouth slightly open and he was slowly going like very pale and started mumbling 'nononono' and then he just.” Calum takes a shaky breath and buries his head in Michael's t-shirt.

“He left.” The words are muffled by the t-shirt but they burn into Ashton's brain anyway. Their soulmate, their _missing link_ , the music note tattoo, just _left_. He's not sure how he feels about it, because he can kind of understand the panic this Luke guy must be feeling, but looking at Calum and seeing him so shaken up just _breaks his heart._

“I wanted to run after him but he disappeared in the crowd before I got to him and what if that was our only chance? What if that was the only time we'll ever meet him? What if I screwed it up?”

Ashton shakes out of his shocked state and wraps his arms securely around Calum, his knuckles brushing against Michael's chest. Michael has a pained expression on his face, a mix between angry and sad and tired and confused. Ashton smiles weakly at him.

“You didn't screw up, babe, please don't ever think that. He was just, he wasn't ready yet. He's our soulmate, Cal. I'm sure everything will work out fine in the end.” The words sound empty as they leave Ashton's mouth. He's not too sure at this point anymore. After all, the soulmate tattoo's have shown him before they're very much capable of breaking the standard.

“We'll be fine,” Michael says, and though they sound a lot more sure than Ashton's words, there's still an undeniable tremble in his voice.

“Yeah,” Calum mutters, “We'll be fine.”

–

They're not fine, not really. Its weird, having a soulmate you know is out there, a soulmate you even know the name of, but they aren't yours.

They might never be yours.

And they need him so bad. Ashton can tell, from the small things. They're all more secluded these days, more to themselves. They barely speak, or go on dates anymore. It's like the idea that their missing link might not want them has sucked the life and love right out of them.

At night though, at night it's different. At night the demons catch up to them and threaten to swallow them whole and the only thing they can do is hold each other close, so close they might as well just be one. But in the morning they'll all go their separate ways again.

And just when Ashton thinks he's about to hit the breaking point, about to give it all up and leave, just get out of there, he meets Luke.

–

He's on his way to do the groceries, when something (or more specifically _someone_ ) on the sidewalk makes him stop dead in his tracks.

It's a boy, a tall blond boy, who's playing guitar and singing. He's pretty good, playing some acoustic cover of a generic pop song, but that's not why Ashton stops.

There's something familiar about him, though Ashton's one hundred percent sure he's never seen the boy before. He would've remembered someone as beautiful as that.

He slowly edges closer, mesmerized by this beautiful person and their beautiful music. When he stops right in front of the boy he looks up and Ashton's eyes meet the boy's sparkling blue ones.

There's a moment, a small moment, where the world becomes silent. The world is silent and quiet and Ashton feels safe and protected, like he's _home_. This is it. This is _him._

“So you must be Luke,” he eventually blurts out, soft smile tugging at his lips.

Luke's eyes widen and he seems to panic for a bit, ripping the guitar from where it's slung across his shoulder and shoving it back in the case that's lying on the floor.

“No, no, please, please don't run off, please. I just want to talk to you I don't want anything else, just talk.”

Luke looks hesitant. Ashton kind of understands.

“I'm Ashton. But you can call me Ash. I was just thinking maybe we could get some coffee? There's a nice coffee shop like, right around the corner. We can just sit, talk. I just, please don't run off again. Please.”

Apparently Luke can see the slight desperation in Ashton's eyes, because he gives in, with a slow nod.

“Yeah, okay. I, yes. Coffee. I can do coffee.”

–

It's awkward at first. They sit in the coffee shop, across from each other, in silence, while Luke continuously fiddles with his hands. He's obviously nervous and Ashton wish he could just lean over and grab the boy's hands in his, make him feel safe. He refrains though, knowing grabbing Luke's hand will probably have the opposite effect.

The silence goes on for too long though, and Ashton's getting jittery. He's not good with silence's, or awkwardness, so he speaks up.

“When I turned eighteen,” he starts, and Luke looks up at him with curious eyes. “I got them. All three of them, just like you. And just like you, I think, I was confused.” Luke nods in confirmation.

“I didn't want them, at first. Like, I knew it had to mean that I had multiple soulmates, but I didn't want three. I just wanted one. I wanted to be normal, you know? So, I covered them up. I hid my tattoos away from the world because I wanted to be normal and like everyone else and I didn't want people to tease me. I kept the pizza tattoo on display though, so people knew I at least had a soulmate. And like, that how I met Michael.” A smile spreads across Ashton's face at the memory.

“Michael, oh man, Michael is so hard to explain. He's an enigma. When we first met, he shoved his foot in my face. Like, he actually took of his shoe to show me his drumstick tattoo, the one you must also have.” Ashton raises an eyebrow in Luke's direction and Luke nods, looking down at his hands.

“But when he first met Calum, he called him a weirdo for cooing at a bunch of puppies and almost got in a fight with him. Like, Michael's actually the sweetest human being on the planet, but he shows it in really, really weird ways. And he's not very good with, like, new people, or meeting people. He doesn't really know where his boundaries lie, I guess. He can be a bit mean sometimes, but he'll still stay up till three am when I have a late night shift, so I wont come home to an empty house.” Ashton realizes he's rambling a bit and quickly regains himself.

“And then there's Calum. His tattoo is the paw print. Which partially has to do with the way we met him, but like, he's also kind of like an actual puppy, you know? Like he's sweet and easily excitable and really, really into cuddling. Calum's always up for anything, you know? You can wake him up at six in the morning and be like 'Hey Cal, lets go for a run' and he'd just be like 'Hell yeah!'”

“Yeah, he seemed like that kind of person when I met him. Really happy.” Luke mumbles and it's the first thing he's said since they placed their orders. Ashton halts for a second, since he'd kind of forgotten about the fact Luke had already _met_ Calum.

“He was devastated, you know.” Ashton mumbles and Luke looks down at his hands. “I know you don't want to hear it, but he was. He came home crying and I've never seen him cry Luke, at least not like that. And like, I know you don't want to hear it, but I thought you should know. He cares about you. I care about you, hell, Michael cares about you too, even though he hasn't met you yet. You're are soulmate, Luke, and the fact that you didn't... You didn't _want_ us. Well, fuck, that hurt.”

Luke's still looking down at his hands and suddenly Ashton can see tears forming in the corners of the boy's eyes. He feels bad, because he didn't mean to spring this on the boy, didn't mean to tell him all this, but he _needs_ Luke to know. He needs Luke to know he had his doubts too, and he needs Luke to know that his boys are the best thing that ever happened to him and he needs Luke to know that they _care._ They care about Luke and they want him and it _hurts_.

“I'm sorry,” Luke whispers and Ashton's heart kind of breaks because this is _not Luke's fault_. It's not Luke's fault that he doesn't want his soulmates, it's not Luke's fault he got more than one tattoo. “I'm sorry, I just, I thought it was a joke, you know? Like, I didn't think anyone could ever love me, I'm not really that great,” Ashton wants to interject but Luke holds up his hand to stop him.

“I'm not that great and I didn't think anyone could ever love me, let alone _three people_. So, the tattoos, I just thought, I thought,” Luke chokes up a bit, “I thought it was a _joke._ I thought the tattoos was universe's weird way of telling me I wasn't meant for _anyone._ Like, like they were saying _you're not normal, no one will ever love you._ And then Calum shows up and he's so cute and and beautiful and I thought 'yeah maybe this soulmate thing could work'. But then he tells me about 'his boys', about the two other boys waiting for him at home and he seemed so sure in loving you and in being able of loving me and of you two loving me and of _everything._ And I, I got scared. Like, what if, what if those boys end up not loving me? What if I disappoint? I just, it was too much pressure, so I just, I ran. I ran away and I'm, I'm _so sorry._ I just couldn't do it and I needed to breath, and I just...” Luke takes a deep breath and Ashton again has to suppress the urge to grab Luke's hand.

“Meeting you, though, I think, I think I can, now? I know that doesn't make any sense, but like. The way you speak about your boys, hearing you say all that stuff, literally all I could think was 'I hope he speaks about me that way someday' and I just, I want to give it a shot. Like, I'm still scared and I don't know what to do but like, I kind of want to, just, meet them? Well actually the only one I haven't met yet is Michael, but like. Just, talk to you. All three of you. Just talk. First.” Luke is still looking down at his hands but at least the sadness is gone now, replaced by a fierce determination.

Ashton smiles warmly at him. “I think we can arrange that.”

–

He takes Luke home, knowing Michael and Calum will be there. The car ride to their house is surprisingly fun. They have a bit of small talk about music and what they do in everyday life and Ashton likes this, likes how Luke is quiet and calm but also quite quirky. Luke may not believe or know it yet, but Ashton already knows Luke's exactly who they need to complete them.

“Here it is,” Ashton says when they're finally standing in front of the apartment. Ashton goes to open the door, but Luke's hand on his arm stops him.

“You promise?” Luke mutters and Ashton scrunches up his eyebrows.

“Promise what?”

“Can you promise me they'll like me?” Ashton's confused expression melts away and he can't help but wrap Luke up in a hug.

“They'll love you, I promise,” He mumbles against Luke's shoulder, as he feels Luke hesitantly wrapping his arms around Ashton.

“Okay,” Luke eventually says, letting go of Ashton. Ashton can't deny he misses the contact. “Okay, I'm ready.”

Ashton smiles at him one last time before throwing the door open. “Honey, I'm home!” He yells into the house. He receives two distant hello's in return. “Guys can you come down here I have someone I'd like for you to meet!” Ashton yells as he leads Luke into the empty living room. Luke is looking around a bit lost and Ashton wishes he knew how to make him feel more comfortable.

“Yo,” Michael appears from the kitchen, paper plate with a piece of last night's pizza in his hands. “Waddup?” However, before Ashton can respond, Michael's eyes land on Luke and he promptly drops the plate. It lands pizza side up, of course. While Ashton's trying to figure out how to get tomato stains out of the carpet, Luke and Michael just stand there, staring at each other.

“Hi,” Luke breaths out.

“Luke?” Michael mutters. The name sounds foreign on his tongue, but at the same time it sounds like he was always meant to say it. Luke just nods.

And then Michael's suddenly moving, rushing forward, wrapping Luke up in a hug. Luke lets out a squeak, but relaxes into it pretty quickly.

“You're home,” Michael mutters, clutching to Luke like he's scared the boy is going to disappear when he lets go.

“Michael!” Ashton squawks, pulling Michael of Luke. “He's not, he needs to get used to this first, all right? You can't just,” Ashton sighs, “God you're hopeless.”

Luke shakes his head. “No, no, I don't mind. I, uh-”

He gets cut off by a sharp gasp that seems to come from the direction of the doorway. All three of them collectively turn around to find Calum standing there, mouth slightly agape.

“Luke.”

Luke smiles hesitantly. “Calum. Calum, I am so sorry, I just, I was _scared_. I couldn't, I didn't. I couldn't believe there were three people just like, willing to love me. I couldn't, I just. I ran. I'm so sorry, but I-”

Luke doesn't even get to finish his slightly incoherent speech before he's wrapped up in a hug by Calum.

“You guys are quite the huggers aren't you.” Luke mumbles as he hesitantly wraps his arms around Calum.

Michael laughs. “You better get used to it, buddy.”

Ashton tenses, because it almost feels like this is it. This is the unspoken question, this is do or die. Now is Luke's chance to get out of it, to tell them he doesn't want this, despite all the signs telling him this is right. Luke can still go back now, can still disappear from their lives.

He looks at Luke and almost sighs in relief when he sees the shy smile tugging at his lips. “Yeah, better get used to it.”

–

(Years later, when the ink of their tattoos has started to fade and they've moved from their shitty apartment to a pretty house with a lawn, when they wake up in the morning tangled in each other's arms, Ashton proposes. It's nothing big, it's ridiculous, even, because they've known they were in it for the long haul ever since Luke joined, but still. It's like a confirmation, that they still love each other and that they'll always love each other and that nothings going to change that. So he proposes.

It comes with this whole dramatic speech about ups and downs and everything they went through through the years and at the end Michael slaps him upside the head and calls him a sap, Calum hugs him so tight Ashton thinks he might actually break in half and Luke just stands there, smiling, glossy eyed.

Ashton knows what he's thinking, has known Luke long enough now to know what goes on in his head.

They love him. They love Luke and Luke loves them back and it's all good. No wonder, really. They're soulmates, after all.)

 

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr [here](http://skatertotluke.tumblr.com) :)))))


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